Curbed Cup 2016 Championship: (2) Fishtown vs. (9) Brewerytown

“It’s the final countdown!” The championship round of Curbed Cup 2016 is here, people, and it’s going to be a doozy. After the Final Four, only two Philly neighborhoods remain, and only one will take home the (fake) trophy next week.

Here’s the final matchup: No. 2 Fishtown versus No. 9 Brewerytown.

Booming Brewerytown climbed up the charts, so to speak, beating out its higher-ranked opponents in every tourney round. It was a clear winner against (5) Graduate Hospital, earning a whopping 85 percent of the vote.

It was less clear who would win the match between (2) Fishtown and (3) Old City. Both neighborhoods saw a lot of support on the Twitterverse and Facebook world, but ultimately Fishtown pulled away with 59 percent of the vote.

So there you have it: It’s either Fishtown or Brewerytown who will take the trophy. This time, polls are open until 11:59 p.m. on January 2, so there’s plenty of time to vote for your favorite neighborhood! Good luck!

Fishtown

Like its neighboring Northern Liberties, some might argue that Fishtown’s 15 minutes of fame is long gone. Not so. While new and old establishments like Johnny Brenda’s, Frankford Hall, and La Colombe have kept this neighborhood humming, there is a long list of projects planned for this hipster haven. There’s a new boutique hotel in the works next to Frankford Hall, as well as several rooms above the trendy Wm. Mulherin's Sons restaurant. Retail, residential, and restaurants are poised to transform Frankford Avenue under the El station, and a massive rock-climbing gym will be an anchor tenant in the Ed Corner building adaptive reuse project. No wonder folks are flocking to this hipster haven. Says one resident: “There’s a good mix of renters and homeowners, newbies and lifers. [...] I love being so close to so many small business, artists, musicians, and makers.”

Brewerytown

There’s no denying Brewerytown’s boom in recent years. The historic neighborhood that was once known for, as the name suggests, its plethora of breweries, today features a bustling retail corridor along Girard Avenue that boasts Flying Fish brew pub, Spot Burger, and soon, the second location of popular Fishtown haunt Pizza Brain. One would be remiss to mention the mix of new builds and adaptive reuse projects in the works, many of which developer MMPartners has spearheaded. As one nominator put it, “Brewerytown has a great price point where you can work right across bridge in University City, hop on Kelly or walk to Center City while paying around $1,500 for 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment.”